Dartmoor 3 Day Solo Expedition [Archive]

Martin

21-11-2010, 08:41 PM

So, as some of you know (in fact anyone who wanted to listen, or even if you didn't) I will be doing a two night solo expedition to Dartmoor on Weds, Thurs and Fri this week.

I plan to walk from Okehampton to Wistman's Wood (http://www.naturalbushcraft.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?57-Wistman-s-Wood-on-Dartmoor), stopping overnight at Sittaford Tor on the way out and the way back.

Now, for me, one of the most exciting things about this trip is, not only will I be undertaking this alone, but I will be doing a live video diary and making regular posts over the three days on this thread.

I am aiming to make this a fairly lightweight trip, carrying everything with me, and hopefully will be able to give some information on how my kit is working as I go.

I will also be taking some HD video as well as stills so I should be able to do a proper trip review on my return.

Please post any comments on the trip or anything you would like me to comment on whilst I'm out. I'm hoping this will be a really interesting project and, if it works, one we can improve on as time goes on.

Martin

Raikey

21-11-2010, 08:49 PM

been waiting for this ,...

dont wanna say good luck cos its not about luck when you prepare as well as you have,...

so,...i'll just say...

enjoy the solitude dude and look forward to the report...

Stu,..

Shewie

21-11-2010, 08:59 PM

Looking forward to the report Martin

Should get me pepped up for my trip to Loch Lomond at the weekend

Ashley Cawley

21-11-2010, 08:59 PM

Well, this will be interesting a Dartmoor solo-trip, isolated and alone, yet able to published content out to thousands! - Well at least you know if anything did go wrong we could have a ton of people out to you in no time :p

For those of you who don't know Martin has been practising uploading and posting both photos & videos here on the Forum straight from his phone, so he'll be live-bloging from Dartmoor.

Can you publish video direct from your phone then Martin?

:campfire:

Hope you enjoy the trip :)

Martin

21-11-2010, 09:03 PM

paul standley

22-11-2010, 12:05 PM

Martin, I'd be interested in learnig more about how you planned for and then subsequently handled the weather on Dartmoor, especially this week with snow forecast from Wednesday. I do mostly solo trips and I'm working up to doing a 2 day (1 night) solo winter trip in the Brecon Beacons somewhere during the next few weeks but am aware that weather conditions are not something to be taken lightly as I have not done any serious winter camping yet.

I have a HTC Leo (HD2) so must see what live uploading capabilities I have, could be interesting. I know I can upload direct to facebook but not tried vids or stills yet.

Skate

22-11-2010, 02:40 PM

I have an HTC Desire so will be following this closely (may need some advice). The phone signal is not great on the Northern moor but there are places on the top of tors that work. Are you planning on skirting the Okehampton range or going through? if so there is a nice site to the North East of Fur tor for camping. Looking forward to following this outing.

Martin

23-11-2010, 04:51 PM

Right then folks. It's the night before my trip and I've just checked the weather forecast. Looking like a bit of a mixed bag with fog, sleet, sunshine and cloud.

I'm uploading a video with details of my kit which I hope you'll find interesting.

Skate, sadly most of the North Moor is being used by the Army for exercises this week so I'll be limited to using the eastern half of that area. I intend to camp at the top of Sittaford Tor, which may be a bit breezy but I'm hoping will give me a mobile signal; if not then updates will be few and far between.

Martin

Skate

23-11-2010, 05:54 PM

Enjoy the walk, I would of started at Belstone :)
There's shelter at Sittaford and lots of fences!
Keen to see how you get on with the travel tap, could be on my crimbo list :)

JonnyP

23-11-2010, 07:17 PM

Batterys die fast in HTC's, and even faster if you use them. Have you a spare battery Martin, or a charger..?
Sounds like fun to me. Have a great trip mate..

Martin

23-11-2010, 07:26 PM

Batterys die fast in HTC's, and even faster if you use them. Have you a spare battery Martin, or a charger..?
Sounds like fun to me. Have a great trip mate..

Yes Jonny, got a double strength battery as well as the standard one. Hopefully I'm only going to use them for the video diary. I have another phone for emergency use which won't be switched on for the duration of the trip. In fact, except for the video diary and posting to the forum, the phones won't be switched on for three days. :)

Think I've got all bases covered.

Martin

Shewie

23-11-2010, 08:01 PM

Where's the vid gone Martin ?

I watched a few minutes earlier on but it bombed out after a while, I think you were still uploading it.

It was embedded on this thread wasn't it ?

Martin

23-11-2010, 08:08 PM

Where's the vid gone Martin ?

I watched a few minutes earlier on but it bombed out after a while, I think you were still uploading it.

It was embedded on this thread wasn't it ?

Yeah, but it's still doing it's thing up at YouTube HQ. Hopefully it'll be up tonight, if not will be there tomorrow. :ashamed:

Martin

Martin

23-11-2010, 09:00 PM

Hi Folks

At last here's my first video diary of the trip. Hope you enjoy it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Kyd7vkZ8c4

Martin

paul standley

23-11-2010, 09:16 PM

Hi Folks

At last here's my first video diary of the trip. Hope you enjoy it.

Martin

Martin, you've got some nice kit there.. what's the total carry weight of that lot ?

YESUMBOS

23-11-2010, 09:18 PM

Hi Martin, great video, hope you have a totally excellent trip, looking forward to your post's.

Yesumbos

Shewie

23-11-2010, 09:30 PM

Good stuff Martin

I always enjoy seeing other folk's kit for a trip.

I see you like Marmite, have you tried the cheese :)

Martin

23-11-2010, 09:35 PM

Hi Paul,

I love collecting and using decent kit; some of the little design touches really tickle me. Overall, it's a bit heavier than I'd like at nearly 17Kg including my food but given the time of year and the fact that I'm doing this as a solo I'm not too bothered although the first few hills could be a challenge. I'll be much lighter come Friday morning when I'm on my way back to the car.

I'll keep you posted...

Martin

Martin

23-11-2010, 09:39 PM

Good stuff Martin

I always enjoy seeing other folk's kit for a trip.

I see you like Marmite, have you tried the cheese :)

lol, I like the Marmite cheese. As well as all other Marmite products. :D

Martin

Ashley Cawley

23-11-2010, 10:26 PM

... At last here's my first video diary of the trip. Hope you enjoy it.

Martin
Thanks for sharing that with us Martin! Enjoyed watching it and seeing what you were taking. I'm looking forward to hearing some of the overnight low temp readings recorded on your new thermometer, perhaps you could take a picture of the screen showing the reading in the morning and post that up here?

If posting videos direct from the Moor becomes an issue, just substitute it with pictures mate, take plenty of snaps throughout the day and then wait till later (when it's dark and your in your tent) to post the pictures up here, plus we'll all be online in the evening. :)

All the best mate and we all hope you have a wonderful trip,

leon-1

24-11-2010, 12:16 PM

Looking like your well set Martin, have fun up there :D

Ashley Cawley

24-11-2010, 04:12 PM

Martin has set off on day one of his trip. He's contacted me via txt to say unfortunately he's having issues uploading video from Dartmoor and his camp-spot for tonight is out of mobile phone reception, so he probably won't be uploading any images tonight.

He is currently (24/11/2010) camping at Teinhead Farm (http://maps.google.co.uk/?ie=UTF8&ll=50.642844,-3.931351&spn=0.001325,0.002401&t=h&z=19) for his first night:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_dzoenG8Svds/TMWf39mMM6I/AAAAAAABE-A/ohGEjDkr__o/s640/IMG_4336.JPG

The old ruins of a Teinhead Farm near to Fernworthy reservoir forest.

Hopefully he's taking quite a few snaps so he can share them with us when he's within reception :)

Shewie

24-11-2010, 04:17 PM

I hope he's packed his thermals, brrrr :)

Looks a lovely spot, are those two larches (?) in the background good for a hammock ?

Skate

24-11-2010, 06:17 PM

That's Teinhead Farm. Often seen campers there. Lets hope the drifting snow doesn't bury him :)

YESUMBOS

25-11-2010, 07:09 AM

Martin, Hope you had a comfortable night and bet the views this moring are brilliant with fresh snow on the moors, hope all is ok. :)

Ashley Cawley

25-11-2010, 09:10 AM

Yes, I hope he's ok too! :) I don't think he anticipated the moor being covered in snow! That is if it has got a covering of snow yet.

Anyone know what the snow coverage is like on Dartmoor yet, if any?

Down here in Cornwall there is patchy snow cover, reportedly heavy enough to stop traffic in some areas, but I made it into work fine this morning.

Martin

25-11-2010, 03:01 PM

Hi Guys, a couple of apologies to follow. :(

Number 1, no video diary. Mobile coverage on the moor was more disappointing than envisaged and, for some reason, when I did have a good signal, my phone insisted on using Wi-Fi to upload the video.

Number 2, back home a day early. As luck would have it, I packed my pocket radio to listen to the test match over night. This morning the radio was still on whilst I was having my breakfast and I listened in to the forecast that said significant snow falls expected on the moors of southwest England overnight tonight and tomorrow. So, given how tough the going was yesterday and the fact that I was only going to be getting further from my car all day today, I decided not to test my ability or fitness to the limit and cut the trip short by a day.

To say I'm disappointed is a bit of an understatement but calling out the mountain rescue team to rescue me, who should know better, is not good for the image or the ego so I will have to wait to complete the trip.

On the up-side, I made quite a view videos which I will be uploading and which contain my thoughts of the trip as I went along, so better late than never.

Thanks for the messages of support and interest. It's been a good trip, albeit that it was 30% shorter than planned.

Martin

Skate

25-11-2010, 03:11 PM

No apologies needed. You did the right thing. Only a fool lets his ego overrule safety. Looking forward to the videos.

Ashley Cawley

25-11-2010, 04:01 PM

Glad to see you home and safe mate, was a little worried there for a while, that snow came out of no-where! I didn't expect it down here in Cornwall, but it did snow alright! I heard there was 50 Schools shut this morning a few of our staff didn't make it in.

I bet it was cold overnight!

Wise to call it off at that stage mate, on your own on Dartmoor in snow, doing a lot of walking - not a good idea, all it takes is one bad-footing, a broken ankle and no phone reception! You'd be in the crap big-style! :ashamed:

Look forward to seeing any photos/videos you've got and hope you enjoyed what you could :)

Shewie

25-11-2010, 04:12 PM

Probably for the best Martin, unless you were kitted out for the snow then it was a wise decision.

How cold did it get down to last night ? Did you have the thermometer out ?

Look forward to the vids later

Matt

25-11-2010, 04:33 PM

Great to know you're back safe and sound mate, no need to apologise, twas a good shout.

Matt.

Raikey

25-11-2010, 05:12 PM

Good call mate in my opinion,...

apoligies not needed,...

knowing your limits and having the sense to act on it is how bad things are avoided,...

so we're stuck with you a day early,...ah well spose we'll have to endure it ,...hahahaha,..

Stu,..

paul standley

25-11-2010, 05:39 PM

Respect Martin...
As a novice in terms of winter camping I'm encouraged to see that more experienced people than me know their limitations and this will stand me in good stead when I do my first solo winter over-nighter in the next few weeks so glad you are OK and really looking forward to seeing your diaries and how you handled the weather.

Martin

25-11-2010, 06:39 PM

Hey guys, thanks for the kind words of support. I know you're all right, discretion being the better part of valour and all that. Still a bit frustrating but I know I made the right decision, even if the forecast weather doesn't materialise.

The worst part of it all is that, when you see the film, all you'll see is beautiful blue skies but not the fact that it was still only 1.5 degrees when I got back to the car this afternoon. Never mind, the moor isn't going anywhere and I'll be able to go back sometime soon.

I going to try to put all the film clips together tomorrow and get it up for everyone to see tomorrow night or maybe Saturday morning depending on how fast mine and YouTube's computers talk to each other.

Martin

MikeWilkinson

25-11-2010, 08:38 PM

Glad your back alright mate, Not worth chancing it in the snow. Look forward to the vids and your next attempt.

Martin

26-11-2010, 02:07 PM

Looks like the right decision was made. Here's a live webcam view of the moor, looking up to where I was walking:

http://www.dartcom.co.uk/dartcam/dartcam.jpg?time=1290783783766

Martin

Martin

26-11-2010, 03:17 PM

This is the first of two videos of my trip. Hope you enjoy them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkOJrRgtc-s

Martin

Martin

26-11-2010, 07:04 PM

So, here's the final part of the video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzhv64YTHf8

Martin

Raikey

26-11-2010, 07:31 PM

brilliant coverage Martin,...

i particularly liked the pan around camp with the frosty tent at 8am

well done mate

paul standley

26-11-2010, 08:30 PM

Martin

27-11-2010, 12:21 AM

Great coverage, great place, similar to the Beacons near me and your pans gave a great sense of the isolation of solo treks. All in all, it was very informative and so I've got a few questions for you Martin...

How many Kilometres was your original planned 3 day trek ?
how many km's did you achieve in and out ?
What was your camp elevation ?
Did you film with your HTC phone (with a zoom lens ?) or was it a video camera ?

Taking inspiration and picking your brains in case I do a solo trip this winter :-) - cheers, Paul.

Hi Paul

The original plan was for about 13km on days one and three and 24km on day two. In the end, I did about that (obviously missing day two) although I stopped short of the original objective but you never walk quite as straight as you planned do you?

Camp elevation I'm not too sure of, although from memory it was about 450 meters, and the map is in the car still.

I did some filming on the HTC but everything on the YouTube videos was filmed with a Flip Ultra HD camera. It a lovely little thing, totally one handed operation, only three buttons on the front and you really don't need to look at where you're pointing it, it's very intuitive. The other nice thing about this camera is that it really does fit in your trouser pocket and makes it easy to get out and do some filming rather than having to faff about with a bulky video camera.

If you can spare the time out Paul you should really give it a go. I loved my time out there and going solo really adds another dimension to being out there.

Martin

paul standley

27-11-2010, 08:03 PM

If you can spare the time out Paul you should really give it a go. I loved my time out there and going solo really adds another dimension to being out there.

Martin

Thanks, I am definately going to give it a go soon. Might even try a diary...! - Paul

Martin

27-11-2010, 08:43 PM

Thanks, I am definately going to give it a go soon. Might even try a diary...! - Paul

Please do a diary Paul. I really enjoyed the process and sharing my trip with the forum made it feel more than just a walk on the moor. Looking forward to hearing about the planning and seeing your progress.

Martin

Tony1948

04-12-2010, 09:11 PM

Well done Martin..................RESPECT and great vids

Karl Wakefield

18-12-2010, 09:16 PM

Brilliant footage Martin.

Really imformative, and nice to see what kit you have taken with you...

shame about the weather conditions, but like you say, its better to put your safety before your ego...

Thank you for sharing your experience with us... looking forward to seeing more

Karl

schooner

12-01-2011, 06:53 AM

Great work, I really enjoyed it. Thanks for going to the trouble mate.

swkieran

12-01-2011, 01:40 PM

brilliant martin i enjoyed watching those could feel the cold from here brrrrrrr,you did the right thing cutting it short m8 especially being on youre own aswell :)

Martin

12-01-2011, 10:21 PM

Cheers Kieran, I must admit it was a bit chilly but I was well kitted for the cold, in fact I was quite toasty in my sleeping bag at night. Getting out the next morning was a bit of an effort and my boots were frozen solid but they soon warmed up. :)

Looking forward to spending more weekends up on the moor between now and the end of May as we are doing training with the air cadets for the Ten Tors event starting this weekend. :)

Martin

swkieran

12-01-2011, 10:54 PM

that sounds great martin being able to work up there :), dartmoor catches loads of people out,its in my home county and have a great respect for it,the worst thing up there is the wind cause it burns you also the damp in the winter.you did well there m8 take my hat off to you and in the open with no natural shelter i.e rocks or woodland

Fletching

19-04-2012, 09:52 PM

Hi Martin,

How's about some more footage from your moor experiences? Even if it's just a map session with some of your cadets. There's plenty of people here that could always have a look at some orienteering, I'm always interested.

Steve :)

Martin

19-04-2012, 10:19 PM

Hmmm, not a bad idea Steve. Doing a video on some basic navigation would be a challenge for sure. Not too sure if I've got the kit capable of something like that but I'll happily give it a go. I've got a few weekends on the moor before the end of the 'season' so I'll have a think about the best way to do it.

I'm also doing my Walking Group Leader course the weekend after Ten Tors so I will try to get some footage from that which may be interesting.

Martin

Fletching

19-04-2012, 10:28 PM